Warren Stephens honored for $25 million in giving to Virginia college

Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., has named the brick walk beneath its historic colonnade for Warren Stephens of Little Rock, CEO of Stephens Inc., in honor of the family's contribution of some $25 million to the university.

Stephens and his daughter Laura are both graduates of W&L.

Stephens chaired the university's fund drive and also has been a university trustee. Said a university news item:

The renovation and restoration of the Colonnade would not have occurred during the Honor Our Past, Build Our Future campaign without the special support of Warren ‘79 and Harriet Stephens of Little Rock, Arkansas, and their children Laura ’12, John and Miles. Warren served as co-chair of the recently completed $542.5 million campaign and as a member of the Board of Trustees from 2007 to 2015. Harriet and Warren made an early leadership gift for the Colonnade at the beginning of the campaign and a second in early 2015.

Harriet, Laura, John and Miles wanted to honor Warren at the end of the campaign and made a third gift recognizing his leadership and devotion to the University. Due to the third gift, the University was able to reach the $50 million campaign goal for the Colonnade. The Stephens family has continuously supported the University through contributions to the capital campaign and many other initiatives, giving over $25 million to Washington and Lee to date.

In recognition of the Stephens family’s support and in honor of Warren, the University announced at its campaign celebration Oct. 9 that it has named the walkway of the Colonnade the Warren A. Stephens Colonnade Walk.

The article goes on to say that Stephens visited VMI with his grandfather, a VMI alum, when considering colleges but decided W&L would be a better fit.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I am also a W&L grad. If they named anything for me in Lexington it would probably be East Lexington Grocery, where, in my day, you could charge beer and money and Slim Jims to prepare for trips "down the road" to women's colleges.)

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